Hellboy: The Shadow Walker
by PassionateSoul
Summary: Hellboy thought he was the only one who was destined to destroy the world, but he was wrong... Comicverse with movieverse stirred in for flavor. Rating may change.
1. The Heist

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and theDark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

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><p>Fortune put on the last of her gear and stepped out of the bathroom into the hotel room. Her father was waiting, his computer-surveillance system set up. He turned to her and examined her outfit.<p>

"Cover check." He said. She stepped forward to submit the examination. He walked around her, making sure every inch of her was covered; leather gloves tucked into long-sleeved turtleneck, running shoes laced properly, all of her equipment in working order. He grabbed a bottle of hair gel from the dresser and dabbed a bit here and there on the top of her head so her hair wouldn't get loose from her braid. "Remember what I said," He warned as he slipped her mask on over her head and checked the ear communicator and optic feed on the headset that came with it.

"'Leave nothing behind.'" They said simultaneously. "Now go and get the target." Fortune nodded and sank into the shadows with a single thought. It was like being under a sheet of black ice and seeing different openings of all shapes and sizes shining light down into the dark expanse. Here, the communicator and camera didn't work. She heard the chattering of her shadow friends, the fox-demons, as they darted in and out of those lights. Her favorite, Jason, scampered to her side. He was different from the other fox-demons, being as he could standand could almost form complete sentences in his mind.

'Go now?' He asked.

'Yes.' She thought back. He chirped and started towards the museum. She could never find her own way in this shadow realm, so she depended on Jason to lead her to where ever she needed to go. With a deep breath, she Shadow-Walked into the Precious Stones exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. Her target: Odin's Eye, one of the seven priceless Asgard Gems. A friend of her father's needed it for something. Fortune didn't ask why. She knew not to ask why after the last time… Shaking off the haunting memories, she stepped forward to examine the gem. It was exquisite. Cut in an almost perfect circle and practically glowing a beautiful deep blue, she felt something resonate within her. Silently she crept to the display, her fingers reaching to disable the alarm.

"Guard change in 15 minutes." She heard her father say in the headpiece. Wires flitted in her mind, her fingers matching the speed in which they cut them. "Counting down." There was a click as the display opened. She lifted the gem gently from its resting place and tucked it into her belt.

"I've got it." She breathed.

"Good. Now get the hell out of there!" she started to creep away when she heard heavy footsteps coming towards them Jason chirped worriedly. She was about to Shadow-Walk out when she saw something that made her freeze in her tracks.

The moment Fortune turned her head to face the footsteps, she heard the light mechanical echo of a gun barrel rotating and locking into place. Aimed at her was a massive revolver, or to make a comparison, a small cannon. The unique, four-round, high caliber weapon had a name emblazoned upon it, The Samaritan. Far more standout than the unusual gun though, was its wielder.

He stood a giant among mortal men, with a large muscular frame to back up that impressive height. His skin looked as though he were dipped in blood and forever dyed that thick ruby color. What almost appeared to be an ancient a pair of goggles atop his brow were in fact the stubs of shaven-down horns. He faced her clad in a long, tan trench coat, an emblem of a hand clutching a sword sewn onto the arm. Hanging open, the coat revealed the man's crimson abdomen and pectorals, both looking as though they had been sculpted from stone. Black pants lead down to heavy combat boots, a long red tail idly swinging nearby.

Reaching to his lips, the red man pulled the stub of a warn cigar from his teeth and let smoke seep through his pearly whites. Arching a brow, golden eyes peered at the girl in an interested, somewhat warn expression. Flicking the cigar away, he revealed his right hand, a massive thing that looked more as though it belonged on an ancient statue than his body. A stone finger than rose and waved back and forth in a 'tsk' motion.

"Yeah... I'm going to have to ask ya to put that back, lady." His tone was impeccably dry and sarcastic, like he'd rip you a new one as soon as he cracked a wise-ass comment.

"Ya see, my higher ups, as well as the proprietors of this fine educational and historical establishment highly frown upon ladies just waltzing in and making off with their hard earned property. ESPECIALLY ancient artifacts. So..." He reached his arm out and pointed the Samaritan at her with greater focus. "You can either place the doohickey back in its display, hand it over to your boy Red here, or try making a break for it like I'm almost completely certain yer going to do. That said, if you choose door number 3, my finger is pulling the trigger. I'm a pretty lame shot but give me a benefit of the doubt because I'm really close to you and my bullets cover a lot of space. So what do ya say, Miss?"

Fortune narrowed her eyes, though he couldn't see it with the optic feed in the way. Who was this guy? She didn't think twice about his strange appearance. After all she walked through shadows and talked to shadow demons. She slowly backed away towards the shadow of a column that flanked the entrance of the exhibit.

"What the hell is that thing?" She heard her father yell into the communicator. She didn't answer, focused on getting to the shadow.

As she started to walk away, the one called Hellboy's eyes rolled and let out a not so obvious sigh, taking a step forward. He knew well enough she was planning a quick getaway, maybe leaping out a window or disappearing into the vents. But this girl was not the first person HB found sneaking around where she didn't belong. He played this game many times and he knew well enough that the best time to act against a thief was the second they moved.

"Of course you'd pick door number 3... Alright, I'm going to give ya just one more shot lady. Hand over the jewel and nobody has to get hurt." It was obvious he'd rather not have to deal with any violence but he was more than willing to dish it out at a moment's notice.

As soon as he stepped forward, she made her move. She dropped to a crouch; swing her leg up to kick the handle of the gun to disarm him. As soon as the gun went flying, she spun and took off running.

"Quick move, getting away from the freak. Now get the target back here." Her father said. She continued down the hall of the museum, turning left and right at random. The sound of heavy boots and a quick glance told her that the red man was following her. So was Jason, right at her heels. "What are you doing!" She heard her father yell again, but she ignored him. "Get out, now!"

"I know what I'm doing, Father." She panted. Soon she had to stop, a dead end right in front of her.

'What now?' She heard Jason say nervously inside her head.

'Don't worry,' she said, reaching down and giving him a pet. 'I have a plan.'

Hellboy barely got a blink in before he felt a sharp pain as her foot kicked his hand and his guns handle! "D'ow! Son of a bitch!" As soon as the gun hit the floor and he looked forward, the girl was booking it. "Hey! That was not part of the deal!"

Swiftly reaching down and grabbing the Samaritan, Hellboy started to barrel forward best he could. In any other situation he'd just be slamming down walls but this being the Museum of Natural History and all, the Bureau would have a cow. The thief went out of a sight, being faster than him, so Hellboy had to take a few wrong turns until he finally caught her in that dead end.

"Ah hah! I just to be civil lady. I even tried being polite but you just had to go and blow it!" He yelled as he charged in her direction.

She saw the huge man barreling towards her like a red freight train. She counted to five quickly. When he got close enough to grab her, she melded into the shadows cast by the three encircling walls. From her safe vantage point on the surface of the shadow, she saw him crash into the wall. She let out a small chuckle as she rose out of the shadow. He was extracting himself from the wall with a groan, pieces of plaster and dust floating in the air. She took off her mask and stared at him, tawny-colored eyes warm with amusement.

"*You are a strange one*" She said, speaking Old Norse so that he wouldn't understand. "*You won't be able to stop me taking the others.*" She turned to the nearest shadow. "*Ella, Costin. Hold him until I get away.*" As the demons did what she asked, she shadow-walked back to the hotel room.

In that split second before he hit the wall, Hellboy's eyes grew very wide and he started to bellow a "SON OF a BI-" As to his surprise the lady seemed to just vanish into thin air. Sadly when a man like Hellboy crashes, he crashes hard, and now he needed to get himself out of his imbedded state. "Really? I mean, COME ON!" He shouted at the empty room.

The demon then blinked in confusion as the woman suddenly rose out of the shadows and revealed herself. She was certainly cuter than HB had expected but that didn't change the fact that she royally pissed him off! Though he was well versed in many ancient tongues, he was not a natural in Norse. "Yeah. No abla pysholadybabble, lady!"

He raised his red right hand to grab her but she was once again gone before he could act. The next thing he knew, he suddenly had these strange creatures pinning. "Where the hell did you come from? Get off me!" He roared as he tried to struggle free.


	2. Confused

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and theDark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

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><p>The moment she rose into the room, she was struck down by a blow from her father. She crumpled to the ground. Jason hissed at him.<p>

"What the hell did you think you were doing!" he yelled. "Playing games with that freak, taking off your mask. You could have left a strand of hair and led them right to us! Of all the stupid-" He left off to muttering to himself. She just pulled out the gem. She was used to her father's rages. They didn't last long. She held out the gem to him. She hadn't noticed before, but the gem looked like it was staring at her. It pulsed in her hand before her father snatched it up. "I guess it's not a total loss." He muttered to her. "Get up." As she did, he reached as if to give her a hug, but changed his mind and patted her shoulder. "Good job. If you keep it up, I might let you tour some college campuses in the fall." Her eyes brightened.

"You mean actual school? Like, real college? No more home school?" She asked excitedly. He waved her away.

"I said IF." He grabbed a jacket and stared to walk out. "I'm going out. Get some rest. We have six more targets to go." With the slam of the door, he was gone. She got into her pajamas, thought whirling in her head. School! Actual, real college classes! No more home school online! She flopped into bed, Jason curling up with her as Ella and Costin crawled onto bed.

'Real school..." She thought before drifting off into sleep.

Hellboy suddenly found himself throwing himself backwards. Having struggled against the foxes, he had nothing to hold himself down as they vanished. His huge chest filled with air then sank deeply as he let out a defeated sigh, wiping some dust and plaster off of his coat. "Whelp. Guess I get to tell Manning. Shiiiiit..."

Sometime later, after BPRD agents ran a full investigation of the museum to see if they could find any trace signs of magical portals or dimensional gateways, Big Red finally got himself back to headquarters. Knowing exactly what was in store for him, the demon wasted no time making his was to Manning's office.

Opening the oak door to the rather lavish space, HB was meeting with an un-approving, awkward expression from a bald, portly visage. Oh Manning. What a winner. "You blew it Red." He said flatly. "Listen, the chick had some kind of shadoooow-diving ability. What was I supposed to do, hop in after her? Go find the princess in another castle?" Hellboy retorted. Manning raised his hand to palm his face in frustration and shook his head. "You don't understand how big a deal this is, do you?"

Hellboy shrugged "Listen Manno. We ain't in the business of rescuing fine jewelry. We've had a thousand other museum break-ins for way more serious stuff. Samael, that clockwork death sentinel...how about that Swahili Octopus man from last Thursday?"

"The jewel, Agent...Hellboy, is one of the seven Asgard Gems. Norse mythology tells of the coming of Ragna Rok, something you should be intimately familiar with. "Hellboy gave Manning a cold stare. He didn't like it when people used his whole 'bringer of the end of the world' thing as leverage against him.

"Our sources believe that these gems hold some sort of mystical power or could maybe even be some sort of key in ushering in the end of the world. We now have evidence of a thief with supernatural abilities possibly targeting these things and I seriously doubt it's to adorn her bookshelf and show off to the neighbors!... Ugh...get some rest, limber up. We need to look into the other jewels and make sure nothing happens to them. Be ready to be sent out at a moment's notice."

Not smiling, Hellboy opened the door behind him and muttered a displeased "Yes sir..." before leaving the office.

When the sweeper team arrived at the museum, what appeared to be a man/fish accompanied them. Colored a deep teal, wearing a black diving suit with a silver breathing apparatus on his neck and matching water-filled goggles, he answered to one agent's summons of "Abe". He walked over to the agent (Briggs, his telepathy told him), every movement fluid and unhurried.

"Is there something I can do?" Abe asked, turning his head sideways so that he could see the agent better.

"We found a hair follicle where Hellboy crashed into the wall, DNA suggest it belongs to the perpetrator. Mind if you give it a shot?" Abe took off one leather glove and held it out to him. Briggs pulled out the single sample from the plastic bag and dropped it into Abe's outstretched palm. Thoughts flooded into Abe's consciousness.

'There isn't enough...have to clip...green wire...blue goes to yellow...Alice likes pink...don't want English...hasn't been six...he'll hit me...Mom leaves tomorrow...Jason, stop that...pretty color...smell cigars...GIANT gun...he's cute...make for the wall...' Jumbled phrases aligned to make sense of the scene that happened previously.

"Anything, Abe?" Briggs asked.

"One suspect. The name is...Fortune. Female, age 18. Long black hair, light brown eyes. Family is a father, mother and two younger siblings." He blinked several times. Briggs immediately relayed the information into his communicator.

"Anything else?" He asked Abe.

"Yes. She isn't at fault here. This girl has been abused by her adoptive father."

The next morning, Fortune sat at one of the computer terminals, typing furiously. Jason napped on her lap while Costin and Ella sat at her feet, fighting over an uneaten pop tart. She had an affinity for technology. Always had, since she could remember. Old artifacts were ok, but her heart was in the 21st century.

"Have you found it yet?" Her father grumbled, nursing a cup of coffee and smelling strongly of alcohol from the night before.

"Not yet, Father." She said, her eyes skimming the pictures of Norse battle axes. "I've found two possible and one that looks like the genuine article. It's on display right now at the Gallery of Ancient Weapons in Cambridge, Massachusetts."

"Get some specs on it, then." Her fingers once again flew over the keys. She had once stumbled across a 'Waste Management facility' site a year ago that had a secret file on all kinds of interesting artifacts. She hacked in quickly and downloaded the ground layout, security plans, and any other surveillance she could think of for the gallery. A picture of the target popped up. It was supposedly a reproduction of Thor's hammer, beautifully aged, with a blood red stone embedded into the smashing end. She stared at the gem curiously, a humming sensation going through her body. "I've found it." She breathed, feeling like she ran a mile.

"Good. Memorize the info and limber up. We've got another target to acquire."

"Fortune?" Hellboy said. "Fortunately for her...I can't go through shadows and give her the spanking she deserves!" The demon belched and crushed the can of Red Bull and tossed it across the room, missing a garbage can with a novelty basketball hoop over it. The can instead narrowly missed a sitting kitten, which screeched and darted under the bed out of fear. "Sorry Raphes!"

"It's information all the same Red. Abe's got us a name and details to go with the face." Said Agent Munn, a female agent of about 25, clad in standard suit and black rimmed glasses. She was a hard working young woman, clearly one to get right down to business, which made dealing with this most informal demon... taxing.

HB sat up from his bed, another kitten peeking out from under the bed and hopping up into his lap. Petting the little creature idly, Hellboy replied. "So we know who she is and that she has daddy issues. What about her intentions? Manning's talked about a few of these artifacts. Do we know where the others are at all?"

"Not all of them. But we do know of one in Cambridge. Manning has issued a mission." Munn handed Hellboy a folder and the demon perused as she went on. "The way Manning figures, these artifacts are likely useless until they are all brought together. Whether it's her next target or the last, Fortune will eventually have to come here. And due to the nature of her abilities, we need to be ready for her arrival at a moment's notice." Munn seemed to have a devilish smirk on her face.

Hellboy perked a brow as he read the file then looked back at Munn. "You got to be kidding me..." Munn grinned and nodded. "Yep. You get to go on dispatch Hellboy. Have fun sleeping at the Gallery for, ohhh however long it takes." Hellboy rose and rolled his eyes, shaking his head as the cat hopped off his lap and walking over to his cigar box. As he turned away, Munn approached him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen Red. If Abe is right, this girl is a puppet. Maybe the trick isn't in trying to catch her or beat her, but maybe showing her some understanding. She's probably never had anyone actually, you know, talk to her." Hellboy turned to face her slowly, striking a match to light his fresh cigar. "I dunno... the Samaritan is more fun."

"HELLBOY!"

"Alright! Alright! Doctor Phil it is! But I'm keeping my gun ready!"


	3. Captured

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and the Dark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

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><p>Fortune stepped off the bus and took a deep breath. She tugged at the grey tank top over her jean shorts nervously. She always felt nervous before a recon. She also hated to dress for it. Her hair felt unnatural hanging in loose waves down her back, her arms and legs felt too exposed, and her gold flip-flops made too much noise when they smacked her heels as she walked. A Nikon D90 camera hung around her neck. Her father walked next to her, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt shorts and a matching camera on his neck.<p>

"Make a circulation around the other exhibits first." He said as he paid for entrance. "Don't take any people pictures this time." She blushed, remembering the Oedipal Sword heist, the day before taking three different pictures of a couple talking about the Caveman Display. She was really interested in the way they acted around each other, like one couldn't live without the other. She had gotten knocked around for that one. She still had a scar from where the dining room table caught her in the fall. She nodded and wandered off. She was rounding a corner a couple of hours later when she saw the Thor's hammer Display. It stood in the middle, looking older than anything in the gallery. The gem seemed to pulse as she got near world dissolved and all she could see was the blood-red light of the gem. Suddenly, she caught her reflection in the glass cover. She gasped and the world re-appeared. She blinked and took a few snapshots. Her father walked in and made a beeline for her.

"We need to leave." He snapped, grabbing her arm.

"Why?" She asked as he pulled her out of the museum.

"Undercover Agents are all over the place. They know we're here and that we're after the gem."

"Its not like this is the first time they've caught up with us." She said as they waited at the bus stop. "I've lifted things that were surrounded by guards" Her father said nothing, ignoring her as he stepped onto the bus.

"I hope you're right" He muttered to her finally.

As Fortunate gazed upon that ancient hammer a portly gentleman with a receding hairline, a fairly unimpressive individual, stepped behind a corner and brought a finger to his ear. "This is agent Marston. I have visual confirmation. This is our girl." "Remain as you are. Agents are at the ready when she exits the building." A voice replied. Marston simply went about looking boring as ever.

A little time passed as Fortune was alerted by her father they were being watched. Even as they made their way out, agents in plain clothes were updating the strike team. As her father stepped onto the bus, three agents leaped out of hiding, each holding a massive flood light. Before she moved too quickly, each of them turned their lights on, hitting her with blinding, overpowering light, to catch her off guard and make certain she had no shadows to sneak into. As those agents kept the lights upon her, she would see the contour of a man running at her, lifting something in his hands. He took aim and as he approached it was clear it was a Taser. As soon as he got close enough he fired it at her.

Fortune saw everything in super-slow motion: The agent coming at her, the blinding white light that cut her off from her shadows, her father shoving her out of the circle of light. He got hit, his body jerking with spasms.

"Father!" She cried.

"GO!" He roared, still conscious. With a final look back, she sank into the thin shadow of a light pole. From her safety in the shadow dimension, she saw them haul her father into a white van and drive off.

'Jason, follow that van.' She told him. The fox-demon chirped curiously.

'Why? Father mean.'

'He's the only one I've got.' She snapped. 'Follow him.' With a snuff of indignity, he did as she asked.

Abe was trying to ignore Hellboy. They were stuck in the white surveillance van for three days, getting on each others nerves. If HB asked him one more time if he swam in his own pee...he probably wouldn't do anything, but he would think some very insulting things. Suddenly the radio crackled to life.

"This is Agent Marston. I have visual confirmation. This is our girl."

"Very good, Agent." Abe said into the mike. He pulled up the security camera feed and turned to Hellboy. "Is that her?" He asked, pointing to a girl in front of the Thor's hammer Display. The father was an unexpected bonus. They didn't know what he looked like and as they shone the lights on Fortune to disable her, his cries at her were the only hint they needed to take him in. Unknowing of what exactly to do about Fortune now that she vanished, they simple decided to secure the area. "Every one scour the area, make sure she's not hiding anywhere nearby! If she shows take her in!" They did have the father though, that was something.

Meanwhile, back in the van, Hellboy was getting on Abe's last nerve. "I'm just saying buddy, I don't see a bathroom in that tank of yours and if I had to drain the snake in the middle of the night I wouldn't wanna drag myself outta the tank, put on all my gear, then walk down to the bathroom." Hellboy was a really deep guy. His mind was always on the important things. It was no wonder he was such a valued agent. Surely it had nothing to do with the fact he was pretty much invincible and could hit like a Mack truck. As Abe got the feed from Marston, HB leaned over Abe to look at the feed and gave a nod. "That's our girl. The guys managed to put her out of commission with the lights? That was a pretty clever idea I had if I do say so myself, ya know, hitting her with those big ass lights so she couldn't get away and all. I'm some kinda genius." The demon gave a very proud, very satisfied with his own 'genius' look.

Fortune flitted from shadow to shadow, following Jason as closely as possible. Finally, they stopped at the Waste Management Facility of Newark, New Jersey.

'This is it?' She asked.

'Yep. Father there.'

'Take me to him. But be discreet.' He chirped and took off again. They rose up in a dusty, old room filled with rotting furniture.

'What is this?' She demanded, kicking the nearest brittle chair. It collapsed into dust. He whined and pointed at the only piece of furniture not collapsing.

'Basement. Loki there. Freya there. Get first.' She stared at him curiously and walked towards the chest. It was made like a giant rectangular Chinese puzzle box. Different sections were moving slowly, the wood sections sliding against each other noiselessly. As soon as she reached it, though, the sections started to move with rapidly increasing speed. Finally, they aligned to create the different sections of a lid and container. It popped open to reveal two rotting leather bags. She reached in and pulled them out. The bags crumbled to reveal two gems. One glowed a mischievous yellow; the other glinted a cold ice blue. 'Yours now.' Jason said, resting a paw on her knee. 'Not mad?'

'No, I'm not mad.' She said, the gems pulsing in her hand. She tucked them into the pockets of her jeans and sank out of sight. 'Now take me to...the demon's room.' She changed her mind quickly. Jason whined curiously, but flitted to the giant red man's room. It was a mess. Food wrappers and paraphernalia from the last century were scattered everywhere. Cats were lounging on the over-sized bed in a slapdash manner; along with questionably clean black shirts.

'What now?' Jason asked.

'Talk to one of the cats. Ask them where the big cute red monkey hides his smoke-sticks.'

'Cute?' Jason sneezed in embarrassment, but did what she said. When she found them, she shoved the box into the waistline of her jeans and grabbed a piece of paper.

*You'll get your cigars back when I get my father back. Peace, Fortune* She scribbled out a note and left it where the box used to be. Suddenly, the giant vault door started to open. With one glance at the demon's surprised face, she dissipated into the dresser shadow.

Richard Mason sat in the cold, sterile interrogation room at the BPRD, smelling of jail cell and old sweat. His shirt was wrinkled and he kept scratching his 5'o'clock shadow in a furious manner. He had been sitting there for hours. His knock-off Rolex told him that. Fine. Let these government pigs do what they would. After Fortune got all of the gems, they'd be sorry...The door finally opened and an attractive woman with black-framed glasses stepped in. She sat down, setting a file and a tape recorder down on the table. She casually switched the tape recorder on.

"Hello, Mr. Goodchild. I'm Agent Munn. As you can see, this conversation will be recorded. It says here in the file that you have already been read you're Miranda Rights. I assume you know why you're here."

"Can't say I do. Ma'am," he said with a condescending sneer. "And my last name's Mason."

"Very well, Mr. Mason. You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit a federal crime, harboring a fugitive, withholding information, obstruction of justice, and carrying a concealed weapon in a government funded building without a permit."

"Under the 5th Amendment, I'm not required to give you any information that may lead to my eventual prosecution. Because I have allegedly 'harbored a fugitive' and am 'conspiring to commit a federal crime', giving you any information concerning the whereabouts of my teen-aged daughter could possibly incriminate me."

"Very well. That would be true if you were guilty. If you were innocent, you would have no reason to keep the information from us, especially since your daughter is missing. I would have thought that you, being concerned for her safety, like any decent father would be, would be more than willing to help us bring her safely home. However, since you insist that you can not share that information with us, we have what is called 'reasonable suspicion', which gives us the right to detain you for as long as necessary."

"She's a big girl. She can handle herself in the big, wide world."

"Very well, Mr. Mason. We have no choice but to detain you until she is found, especially considering the fact that you refuse to provide us with updated contact information so we could reach you in the event that she is found." She coolly picked up the file and recorder from the table and started to leave.

"That's not going to matter, once she gets all of them," he said cryptically. "There's going to be a whole new world once I take it over."

Hellboy was more than relieved to be off duty and off this assignment. He hated being on dispatch. Hellboy was a mover, a doer, not a waiter! It didn't fit his style to be cooped up in a van for days. But the crew got their hands on the thief's father, which Abe believed to be the real mastermind behind the thefts, so he figured he could rest easy for at least a little while. There was a back to back showing of the Ghostbusters movies on cable and those and about 20 to 30 cheeseburgers sounded like HB's hot date for the evening.

As he approached that massive vault door, he cracked his fingers, then his neck, then his spine. Here a crack, there a crack, everywhere a crick-crack. Putting in a thick key then pulling a lever caused the thick door to unlatch and slowly open as a red light spun. You'd have thought a ship was sinking or something. Walking into the room, he got ready to say hello to his cats when he caught just the briefest glimpse of that girl.

"Oh HELL NO!" But soon as he got halfway through that sentence she was gone. She already was on his bad side after making a fool of out of him at the museum. Now she was stalking him? "Alight chicky-mama! I'm gonna give you to the count of ten before I reach into the nearest shadow and give you the spanking of a lifetime!" He shouted in no particular direction, assuming she was lurking in some dark corner of nowhere. He cats responded to his harsh tone and a few of them darted off into hiding, while a few of the older ones simply continued lounging, used to their father's fervor. The demon walked further into his sanctuary, his golden gaze slowly darting this way and that, looking for some sort of sign she was nearby. Moving in slowly, he quirked his head as he saw a note where his cigar box typically was. Taking a look at it, he rolled his eyes in frustration and said "Seriously?" He closed his eyes then took a deep breath. He remembered what Munn had said to him earlier. Taking a moment to think, Red suddenly had an idea.

He casually wandered over to his bed and sat at the foot of it, glancing at the note again. "I get it... ya wanna see your daddy. I know what that's like. When my father was alive I'd have done hell of a lot more than sneak around and snag cigars if someone was keeping him. I'd be breaking noses... but that's just me." His words were directed nowhere in particular, but he could hope she was hearing him at that moment. "...Abe tells me your eh... father ain't the nicest fella..."

Fortune hid under the bed, her arm around a quivering Jason. At first, it was funny to see the demon lose his cool. But now he was sitting above her, talking like she was there. He had a dad? It was a little odd. She sank into the shadows and switched to the ceiling so she could see well. Her dad wasn't the nicest that was for sure. But why did he care? It was just a trick to get her to come out. With a huff at her own stupidity, she pulled out one cigar and let it drop it on his head as she followed Jason to her father. He was in a cement interrogation room, like in one of those crime dramas. She sidled up to the table shadow and poked her head out under him.

"Father," she whispered. "I've come to rescue you." He said nothing, not even acknowledging her. "Father-"

"I can hear you, Fortune." He whispered, not looking at her, lips barely moving. "Why did you come here?"

"I came to get you."

"You don't need me to get the other gems."

"But-"

"Listen to what I say, Fortune. The best thing you can do is to get those gems and then break me out. Leave me here for now until then. I can take care of myself." She stared at her father's slightly bored expression.

"Ok. I will." Her father's hand came up and rested on her head for a moment.

"We're going to change the world once you get them all, Fortune. Wait and see." With a final pat, Fortune disappeared.

Abe sat at a small worktable in the library, re reading Fortune Goodchild's file and nursing another cup of coffee. With a flick of the wrist, he turned to the most recent contact information of the listed mother, Lydia Garret-Mason. He picked up the phone from the cradle and dialed the number he found. The phone rang twice before it was picked up.

"Hello, Garret residence. Alice Garret speaking." A small child's voice said.

"Hello, Alice Garret. May I please speak to your mother?" Abe asked.

"Ok. MOMMY! THERE"S SOMEONE ON THE TELEPHONE FOR YOU!" Abe winced at the screech of five-year-old girl. There was shuffling sounds and a muffled conversation.

"Hello?" A woman's voice finally said.

"Hello, Mrs. Lydia Garret-Mason?"

"Yes, speaking?"

"My name is Abraham Saipan and I was wondering if you would talk to me about your daughter, Fortune Goodchild?" Her tone turned harsh.

"Did Richard get arrested again? Where do you want me to pick her up? Honestly, it's about time! He's skipped out on every visitation that BY LEGAL RIGHT he owes me."

"Are you saying you don't know where she is?"

"I haven't known where she is since she was ten. Her father keeps her from me on purpose. He's vicious like that. He wanted full custody when we got divorced, saying that 'only he knows her destiny' or some crap like that. I've always hated homeschooling her. I know she's a little odd, with the hiding and finding all of those foxes and the weird languages, but she'd have been a lot better if her father just let me raise her and not filled her head with all of those Norse fairy tales." There was a pause. "You don't have her, do you?"

"No, Ma'am. She's missing and we need some background information."

"I thought as much." She sighed. "Well, Richard and I adopted her about five years into our marriage. It was a little odd, not filing any paperwork or not getting a social worker. Richard's friends just seemed to hand her over to us. If you find her, tell her George is walking and Alice misses her very much. Will you do that?"

"I will, ma'am. Thank you." He hung up, then cradled his head in his hands. "This is getting way too complicated."


	4. The Demon, Kallis

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and the Dark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

* * *

><p>They called it Rock-Bottom. It was the lowest level of the BPRD Headquarters and it housed the most viscous and dangerous of creatures under an entire twenty feet of solid concrete. The only way down was a single elevator from the second to last floor. All manner of mighty and terrible creatures were imprisoned, often too powerful or too vile to defeat or set free. The Bureau did the world a favor and kept these hellish beings and at least kept them out of trouble.<p>

Only the most stoic of agents were promoted to guard duty down here. To visit Rock-Bottom to listen to the cries and roars of dozens of monstrous entities. Most of them were kept in heavy duty cells and cages, but a select few required "special" treatment. One of these denizens was locked away in what seemed to be some sort of bolted tank, which seemed to contain nothing but a thick, dark mist. That was until a fiendish, Cheshire cat-like smile appeared, followed by sickly yellow eyes. The being contained in this prison was known as Kallis, a wraith. He sustained himself by causing terror and misery among the living and consuming their life's energy. The Bureau was able to track him down toLondonwhere HB himself was table to pin his dark form down with cross doused in holy water. Though he tried again and again, Kallis was never able to free himself.

Within his prison today, however, something made the wraith stir. "Ooooh...what is...I sense...a being...one able to walk the darkness..." A wicked, high pitched voice oozed out like honey, clever and fiendish. "I. Must...HAVE IT! Such a meal would empower me a hundred fold... such a prison as this could not DREAM TO CONTAIN ME!" The mist began to churn, Kallis wanted to get out. Though he had tried for years, today was different. The prospect of such a delicious meal empowered him!

The guard on duty, covered in heavy-duty SWAT armor, heard the unusual amount of activity coming from Kallis' chamber and drew his AK-47. "Hey! Calm down in there!" As soon as he spoke however, a bolt rocketed out of the tank, just past his head. More bolts began to shoot out and the thick glass began to crack. "Stand down! I repeat!" But the glass shattered open as a dark entity swarmed out. Free from his prison, Kallis took his true form. His body was a mere cloak of pure shadow, which long rigid hands that looked like tree branches and cracked stiffly with every movement. His black visage was goblin-like, a pointed chin, a pointed nose, pointed ears, and rows of dagger-like teeth filling that vile grin.

"Ahhh...It feels so good to stretch the old fingers...now my good man...if you would be so kind...I require an appetizer before the feast..." Kallis' grin curled up unnaturally so, filling the guard with terror. "No. Please! NO!" Kallis then raised his claws and his mouth grew horrifying large and he flew at the guard and grabbed him, sucking the very soul from his eyes, nose and mouth. The guard screamed as his body began to shrink and dry out, turning into a lifeless husk that fell to dust.

"And now...for the main course..." Kallis cackled then darted to the elevator, slipping through the cracks in the door and up the shaft.

Hellboy glanced around, wondering if she was even still around or if he was just going crazy and talking to himself. He was hoping the common ground would get her to stand down but it didn't look like that was going to happen. HB then felt something bounce of his head and looked down to see a single cigar lying on his sheets. Taking it in his fingers, he looked around the room again, a hunch telling him she was no longer there. "Well...least she was nice enough to leave me one."

He then swiftly got off the bed and rain over the speaker in his room. Setting it to broadcast to all, he said "Guys. I think sneaky, dark and beautiful is in the Bureau. I repeat, Fortune is in HQ." When he finished broadcasting, he assumed the agents would raise their guard and initiate a search on each level. HB then walked up to his coat and holster and threw them back on, rolling his eyes as he opened the vault door. "So much for taking it easy tonight..."

Fortune shivered as she walked down an old, rundown street a block away from the B.P.R.D. She'd never been on her own before. She always had her father to do all of the planning for the jobs. Sure, the last job was her planning, but her father set it up. She had no gear, no tech, no place to stay. The agents had seized the hotel room and all of her father's equipment. Jason padded next to her, oblivious of the slight drizzle that was starting as the sun went down and the cool night air started to blow. Fortune shivered again, remembering that she was still dressed in shorts and a tank top. A few other fox-demons, Taupe, Misran and Lira, wriggled their way out of her shadow. 'Can you guys find me a place to stay?' she thought to the group of demons. They all yipped and took off to do as she said. They found an abandoned warehouse with a dusty old mattress made of tarps. Her shivers grew worse as the water chilled her skin and the lack of clothing deprived her of warmth. With an exhausted sigh and the beginnings of a fever, she fell to the bed. The fox-demons clustered about her as usual, providing warmth and comfort as they had when she was a child. Cuddled in the familiar pile of fur, she fell into unconsciousness. -

Fortune was in the shadow dimension, walking towards a doorway. In the doorway was the shadow of her...only she knew it wasn't herself. The shadow looked more confident, worldly in a way. They stared at each other, walking around each other and looking each other up and down. "Who are you?" she asked finally. "Who are you?" The shadow asked in a different tone. She didn't even speak the same. "I'mme." she answered. The shadow laughed. "No you're not. You're a shadow. A shadow of me." The shadow walked towards her and reached out a hand to air-touch Fortune's face. "A pale imitation, nothing more. You're so innocent. I bet you've never even had sex." An image of the red demon popped into fortune's mind when she said that. She blushed and shook her head, expelling the image. "I thought so. You don't know how much power you have. You don't even use it as much as you can. You could rule the little peons that boss you around, beat you to the ground. You could take what you want, and no one would be able to stop you." "Why would I want to do that?" Fortune asked. The shadow laughed and touched her cheek. It felt like acid. "Because you can! Because no one in this wide world can stop you!" Her hand seems to pass into her face, to be absorbed into Fortune. "Such innocence...don't worry, I'll do what you won't. We're supposed to make the world new, you and I." Fortune wanted to run, wanted to get away from this girl who looked like her and made her skin burn. But the girl continued to phase through her, sending her nerves on fire. Her face was changing, becoming a frightening elfish mask of black, the eyes writhing with dark shadows. "Make the world new." It hissed and lunged into her.

Jason chirped worriedly. His pup, Fortune, was shivering and muttering incoherently. She was way too hot. He knew that this was a human illness, like the ones when she was very small. He chirped again. What was he to do? He conferred with the others. The only way they would get the Vessel better is if they took her to the sick-place. He snuffed. Maybe that demon could help, Misran said. After all, they were kin of sorts. They were from the same sire. Jason yipped in agreement, walking through the shadows and appearing in the B.P.R.D a moment later. Everyone was sitting in a strange room with a long table. A fish/man was sitting next to the red demon along with the other humans. He barked to get their attention. He expected them to yell and start shooting. He didn't expect the large red one to grab him by the scruff of the neck like an unruly pup.

Kallis slide up the elevator shaft like some sort of black slime and materialized upon the next floor, quickly sinking into shadow as an agent walked by. Kallis did not travel through the shadow realm the way Fortune was able to, but was rather a sentient shadow himself, able to flatten and squeeze and hide in the darkness. If you're shadow suddenly grew a face and claws and tried to kill you, that was Kallis. The nostrils upon his pointed nose flared as he sniffed for the presence, so very hungry. "It is here...but it grows faint. I have to find it!" He sunk back into shadows and made his way through more rooms and levels, a master of stealth. Seeing a larger group of agents approaching down the hall, Kallis slid under a door into the maintenance closet. He would love nothing more than to make a meal out of all these mortal, but he knew the Bureau was a capable of dealing with him and did not want to alert anyone. Luckily the guard at Rock-Bottom had an hour to go on his shift, so Kallis was free to move undetected a little while longer.

But then the presence faded. "Nooo...no NO NO NOO!" The Wraith grew furious. All of that power and it just vanished! This would not do at all! The wicked one would continue to investigate, look to see if his target left any sort of trail behind. If he could just get close to his hunt, he could get its sent and would be able to track it down no matter where it went.

Seeing a vent in the wall, Kallis grinned and snuck into it, hearing the echo of voices down the way. Crawling swiftly through the air ducts, he "hummed in curiosity as he looked into a room where a meeting was taking place. There he saw the fish man and the red monkey and he snarled. It was the demon that pinned him down with a cross and imprisoned him in the first place...

"We haven't found any hint of her around the Bureau besides my room?" Red asked, leaning back in his chair and smoking that sole cigar. The agents started a diligent watch and used the technology at their disposal to detect any sort of temporal or magical disturbances in the air, but Fortune's shadow-walking ability seemed to be outside of their technology.

"Tell us exactly what happened in your room." Requested Munn, a tad miffed by the father's utter lack of cooperation. If they couldn't get any info about Fortune from him, perhaps HB was able to learn some things, provided he thought with his head and heart and not his fists.

"When I walked into my room my cigar box was gone and she left me this note." He placed the very thing on the table "Here, maybe you can do some DNA tests or something. Anyway Munnster, I tried like ya said and I was 'being nice'. I tried talking to her but the only response I got was getting one of my cigars back. I don't think she stayed long enough to hear most of what I had to say."

"Did you see her?"

"Only briefly. She was wearing some tiny little top and booty shorts." Hellboy then caught Abe smirking out of the corner of his eye. "What?"

And that's when a bark filled the room and everyone turned to see the fox demon. HB didn't have to take a breath to instantly rush the animal and seize him like a misbehaved puppy. Raising a stone finger, pressed it against Jason's snout to show him he meant business. "And just what do you think you're doing here Scruff McGruff? Your little lady friend send you in to do more snoopin'?"

Jason snapped at the finger pressed to his snout in indignation and struggled to get free. Did he not know that this was an insult to a son of Inari! He didn't know what a 'Scruff McGruff' was, but it sounded unpleasant.

'Let me go, Son of Fallen One!' He growled, using his telepathy in hopes that the demon would be able to speak with him. 'Fortune sick! Need your help. Need doctor! Need medicine!' Obviously, the demon didn't hear him, considering the blank stare he gave Jason. This demon was stupid to his own kind. Raised by the humans, no doubt. Jason started to growl and bite again in frustration. He got a good nip at the demon's flesh hand when the fish man stepped forward.

"Wait!" He said. Jason felt him reaching with his mind "Red, he's here for help. He says that the girl is sick." Jason relaxed in the demon's grip with relief.

'You understand.' Jason said, connecting with the fish man's mind gratefully. 'I'm Jason. I talk to you.'

As Jason got sank his little teeth into Hellboy's left hand the demon pulled it back and shook it. "Agh! Little bastard I aughta..." He started to raise his hand into a fist until Abe stopped him. Raising an eyebrow as he heard the news, he looked back to Jason and squinted his gaze. "And you can lead us to her? You guys have been awfully content with dodging us the last few days..." Red put his grudges aside though and spoke up to the other agents in the room. "Get a medical van ready! We'll grab her and bring her to the infirmary of the hospital." A little dense, Red was. Heartless, he was not. He walked over to his chair and grabbed his coat, swooshing it back on.

Meanwhile, a most pleased Wraith brought his fingers together and cackled silently. Fully in touch with his dark ways, Kallis understood every word of Jason's mental broadcast. This little fox was connected to this 'Fortune'. How fortunate for Kallis that he took in a deep breath and got the fox's sent, which also carried a fair amount of the girl. All he needed was to follow the trail now. He remained hidden and would stay so until the trail lead to his treasure...

Abe was behind the wheel of the medical van, Jason on his lap. The little demon had his head sticking out, enjoying the ride and pointing to where Fortune was.

'Left on the yellow sign.' He said, his little paw jabbing at the abandoned warehouse. He finally pulled into the decrepit parking lot, an observation van with Hellboy in it parking right beside him. Jason hopped out and disappeared into the nearest shadow. The doors were chained shut and covered in rust, but it was no problem for Hellboy's strength. When Abe saw her lying on a bed of old tarps covered in what seemed to be a black fur blanket, he was reminded of an illumination of Kudrun from an Old Norse mythology book. When he drew near, however, a dozen or so fox heads perked up and hissed at him. Apparently, they were drawn to Fortune's weakened state, an aura of protection around them. Jason bounded towards them, letting out a series of barks and yips. The fox-demons dispersed, leaving Fortune alone, Jason curled on to her chest. Abe made to pick her up, But Hellboy beat him to it.

As they pulled up, HB hopped out of the van and approached the warehouse. "Let's clear the way a little SHALL WE?" Hellboy thrust his fist forward and broke the doors open, sending a few links of the chains flying. Strutting in, he shook some rust off his fist and approached the tarp alongside Abe. His brow furrowed as he observed the black mass, not realizing it was a mass of other 'Jason's' until they showed their heads. "Huh, chick keeps interesting company..." He followed Jason and scooped the cute girl up in his arms. Why couldn't more assignments work out like this? "Huh, least she's light. Let's get her hooked up!"

Hellboy carried her out of the warehouse to bring her to the medical van. As he opened up the back though, he took a step back. "Uh... Abe?" Where there should have been an emergency medical technician there was a pile of clothes covered in dust. "What the hell..?" Hellboy peered closer and could see just a few human bones in the dust. "Oh crap!" He turned around to look at the observation van and he saw the driver door open with dust a few finger bones trickling out. The demon looked to Jason and said "This isn't one of your tricks is it? You better not have led us into a trap!"

A chill suddenly filled the air, followed by an insidious cackle. "Ehheheheheheh..."

Jason hissed as he felt the presence of a Greater shadow demon behind them. This was the bastard children of the Kitsune, mortal enemies of the fox-demons. He knew that the creature was after Fortune. Well, no one was going to take his pup to the Netherworld! The creature, known to him as Kallis rose and tried to attack the trio. He snapped at the thing's searching fingers as Hellboy practically shoved Fortune at Abe. The thing Growled, recognizing Jason.

"Inari Disuke. It's been a long time. You've gotten smaller." The creature Hissed. jason growled and lunged at Kallis.


	5. Imprisoned

Kallis dropped as a raindrop would hitting the ground, sinking into flat shadow as Jason missed his target. He then rose back up and snickered. "Mrrmmm...seems you're also out of shape as well. Well, I suppose the years can't be kind to everybody." Kallis grinned and turned to pursue Fortune, but that crooked grin swiftly dropped into a frown as he came face to face with Hellboy. "Ya got that right ugly!" With that, Hellboy swung is stone arm back and upwards, uppercutting the wraith a full twenty feet into the air. Due to the deep demonic nature of the Right Hand of Doom, it was capable of touching and harming Kallis, whereas most anything mortal would just phase right through him.  
>Kallis landed and reformed, clearly seething with rage. "No Red Monkey and Bastard Fox will get in my way! I crave her power! I deserve her power!" Hellboy growled but then remember how he captured Kallis the first time. Looking to Jason he shouted. "Hey fox! Keep the ugly guy busy for me!" With that, Hellboy took off for the observation van.<br>Meanwhile, Kallis set his sights back on Jason. He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate and consume Fortune until he disposed of her body guards. "You will make for a fine morsel yourself, Inari Disuke!" With that his claws seemed to grow and his teeth seemed to sharpen and he raced at the fox.  
>In the van, Hellboy was going through his cache, filled with all sorts of weapons and artifacts. "C'mon c'mon...where is it..." Hellboy threw out a horseshoe, a shrunken head, a grenade... and he grinned as he finally found what he needed. "Eureka!"<p>

Jason headed straight for Kallis, his fangs bared and his claws extended. They met with a crash of fur and shadowflesh. He clawed and snapped at any limb of Kallis' that he could get at, his teeth and fangs tearing the shadow demon's body like paper. Kallis hissed and tried to detatch himself from the furious fox, but Jason wouldn't let go.

Hellboy tended to whatever he was in need of, Kallis and Jason traded a series of quick dodges and strikes. "First I'll consume you mongrel, then I'll consume your little human pet! With that much power I could be mighty beyond belief! Perhaps even mightier than... Amatsu Mikuboshi!" His eyes seemed to shimmer as he uttered tat name. Whoever that title belonged to, it clearly held a lot of weight.  
>Kallis snarled and grew ready to attack Jason once more, this time intending to end their little charade. He opened his daggered maw and and clenched his cracking fingers, but before he could strike his shadowy body was grabbed by a stone hand. "Yo Kallis, Imma let you finish, but holy water imbued crosses are the best Wraith killing weapon, of ALL TIME!"<br>With that, Hellboy rose his regular hand to reveal a large white cross which he proceeded to drive into Kallis' shoulder. The Wraith screamed in agony as light poured out of the wound. He growled and snarled and clawed at the demon, but HB was a hardy fella. One of Kallis' claws caught Hellboy's forehead, scratching down past his brow. HB merely grit his teeth and began to stab Kallis repeatedly, holy light breaking down the Wraith's shadowy body. With a final pained scream, Kallis shattered and disapated into nothingness.  
>Hellboy stood there, panting, flinching as he rose a finger to his scratch. He then looked to his companions, gave a sheepish grin and ten said "Whew... Where were we?"<p>

Abe set Fortune down on the gurney in the medical van and prepped to give her an IV. He checked her vitals and decided it was noting but a fever. She was severely dehydrated, so he decided just to give her a simple saline and K fluid replacement solution. He prepped the entry site with an alcahol swab and was about to insert the needle into her vein when she grabbed his hand. He looked up to stare at her light-brown eyes, shiny with fever.  
>"No hospitals..." she muttered before passing out. He stared at her for a beat, then proceeded. he was pulling the cotton swab away from the entry point when he saw her blood on the white cotton.<br>"Red! You've got to come see this!" He called. Instead of the usual crimson dot, the spot on the swab was a deep violet. he was called, HB came in and blinked and peered closer at the blood. "I'd say this is shocking but the girl does travel through shadows. There was no way she was gonna do that without being...different somehow. Maybe you should take a sample and look into it? But let's get this chick back to HQ before she keels over." HB hopped out of the back and into the drivers seat, getting them back to BPRD. HB did not expect to come back with so little staff. Good riddance, Kallis.

Abe sat in the lab of the BPRD, studying Fortune's blood. She was still asleep at this time, but he had a whole list of questions for her. A nano-microscope was in front of him, Fortune's blood sample in the examining slide. He twisted the focus, typing a few things in the keybord so that the sample would appear on the big flatscreen next to the desk. He pressed 'Enter' so that the n-mic would zoom in. Her blood cells jumped into focus, looking exactly like normal red and white blood cells, save the fact that they were different shades of violet. he pressed it again. A display of Double Helix's the size of a thumb appeared. he suinted at them. They seemed to have a couple of blotches on the screen. he hit it again. One of the Helix's jumped onto the screen. He stared at it, confused. He sensed one of the scientists, Dr. Helen Sabin, coming up behind him.  
>"This is quite unusual." He said to her. "You see those shadows where the nucleic acids are supposed to be?"<br>"It looks like she's missing some." She said.  
>"It snot as if there's nothing there, its just...I can't explain it. It's like it's a... a shadow of them." Dr. Sabin and Abe stared at the puzzle before them, wondering if it was worth it to open this particular can of worms.<p>

Fortune woke up in stages.  
>First, she knew she was thirsty.<br>Then she knew she was warm.  
>Finally, she knew that she was in a bed with the lights on.<br>Jason was curled up n her chest as usual. She tried to reach up to pet him, only to find that she was handcuffed to the bed. She blinked her eyes open. They were gritty and her muscles hurt like she'd been exercising too much. She looked around the unfamiliar medical ward. The demon was outside, speaking to one of the doctors. She started to panic. How had she gotten here? She was thinking of shadow walking out of there, but the handcuffs prevented her from doing so. Plus, there were too many bright lights ridding the room of shadows.  
>"You're awake" she heard someone say.<br>She looked up to see an unfamiliar fish/man sitting in a chair next to her bed.  
>'He helps.' Jason said, batting her cheek with his paw affectionately.<br>'Where am I?' she asked him.  
>'You're in the BPRD medical facility.' A strange voice said inside her mind. It was eloquent, meaning that whoever it was had very strong telepathic abilities. She stared at the fish man, wondering.<br>'Yes, I'm the one.' He continued, waving slightly. 'My name is Abraham Saipan.'  
>'Fortune Goodchild.'<br>'I know. You left a few things back at the Museum of Natural History.  
>I've been the one tracking you. Hellboy and I, that is.'<br>'Who's Hellboy?'  
>'The big red guy over there.' He pointed at the demon.<br>"So that's him…" She whispered aloud, her voice raspy from sleep and thirst.  
>"Forgive me, you must be thirsty." He speaking voice was exactly like his mental voice. How cool. He went over to a sink and filled a cup of water for her. She sipped it while staring at the demon, Hellboy. He must have sensed her stare, because he turned to look at her. Their eyes met. As she looked upon Hellboy, she noticed a large bandage resting on his brow. It seemed he through hell and high water to get her here. The doctor was pointing at the wound, clearly lecturing Hellboy about taking it easy and taking care of himself. Through the glass, it was obvious the demon was speaking back with some kind of relaxed, witty retort. The doctor shook his head with a slight smile and walked off.<p>

For no discernible reason, Hellboy turned his gaze to the glass to find that the shadow chick was looking right at him. This was the first time they made eye contact without it involving him getting hurt or his stuff stolen. It was sort of strange, to have this girl who was impossible to catch and track suddenly resting there, likely not disappearing anytime soon. He then saw Abe approach her and hand her water and... put a hand on her? One of HB's eyes twitched. Why did this tweak him out so bad? Grunting, he decided to pay the doctor and patient a little visit.  
>Entering the medical wing, Hellboy played it casual as he walked in on the two. "So what's the verdict Abe? Girl gonna make it out of here in one piece?" He crossed his arms and looked back to Fortune. "You're welcome. By the way."<p>

She narrowed her eyes at his cocky tone. She didn't ask for his help. But the bandage around his head...Had he rescued her from that shadow thing? Her memories were shoddy and blurred, but she thought so.  
>"Thank you." She said reluctantly.<br>"She'll be just fine. She still has a slight fever, but it's nothing we can't cure." Abe said to Hellboy's question. Fortune let the men talk, turning to Jason.  
>'How did I get here?' She asked her companion, setting him on her lap and scratching behind his left ear. He purred under her hand.<br>'Yousick. Needed help. I get Abe. He nice.' He answered, sending mental pictures of what happened after she passed out. She sighed and leaned back in the bed.  
>"Am I going to have to stay here?" She asked aloud to the pair.<p>

As Fortune spoke up when he was talking to Abe, Hellboy turned to face Fortune and brought his hand to his chin in mocking contemplation. "Huh. Well you're wanted for battery of BPRD personnel, that personnel being me, theft of highly valuable and possibly dangerous artifacts, breaking and entering. Oh and for being in possession of higly important cigars! So with good behavior you'll get out in eh... couple hundred years maybe?" He rose a brow and looked to Abe.  
>"She's in good shape. It's time to get down to BPRD business. If you could give us a moment dude. Hellboy walked to the other side of the room and grabbed a chair, bringing it to the foot of Fortune's bed. Sitting in it opposite way, he took his coat off and glanced at her. "Alrighty chickymama, what's yer deal? I've got all kinds of intel of your douchebag daddy pulling your strings. Why you listening to him and why's it worth it?"<p>

Fortune blushed when hie took off his jacket. He had nothing but pants on underneath, and she could't help but notice the expanse of muscle that he had. He must work out... But at his snip at her father, she sat up in a fury. "Don't you dare insult my father, you big ape!" She snapped. "You don't know the first thing about him! As for what we were doing, that's none of your bleeping business! I don't have to tell you anything! I think you deserved a good battering, 'cuz it might've punctured a hole in your bleeping massive ego! And as for your precious cigars, Costi chewed them up because he liked the flavor!" She flopped back down, breathing hard. "So there."

Hellboy's eyes widened into big golden plates as Fortune went off! Damn! The girl had some fire in her afterall! His eyes grew less wide as she finished and all he had to say in response was "What the hell's a Costi?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Ya know what? Go ahead and defend yer dad! But lemme ask you something, what's the last nice thing he did for you? And by nice I don't mean 'not be mean' but going out of his way to be kind to you." He crossed his arms and lifted a brow, giving her a minute to tale that in. His expression then grew very serious. "Look, I know you aren't a bad person, but we know enough about your plans that the end result is the world going 'poof'. You know what that means? That means you're ending the lives of millions of good people. You know what that makes you? A bad guy." He was quiet a sec then added "And don't even try to give me that 'you don't understand nonsense cause I know exactly how this whole thing goes."

Fortune was stopped short by the demon's question. Come to think of it…  
>"He…he bought me breakfast before we went to the museum…" she whispered in a tiny voice. As Hellboy continued she got irritated again. "What do you mean, "Going poof"? I don't know what you're talking about. We just stole them for the money. My dad's friends pay really well. My dad even gives me a cut. 25%, off the top after expenses are paid." It was at that moment that Hellboy would realize that Richard Mason didn't tell his daughter what they were stealing the gems for. She might have been guilty of stealing them, but she wasn't a player in the Apocalypse Games. "Sure, my dad can be a bit harsh, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. Besides, what else am I supposed to do? I'm a freak of Nature. There's nothing else I'm good at besides getting into places I don't belong." She fidgeted and stared at the faint reflection in the glass window. "I've always been the fox-girl who can walk through shadows. My dad says it's a gift; that I should use it. But he won't explain why I can do what I do. He never has the answers to the one question I want an answer to." She stared at herself, wondering what she really was. "I mean, I can't be the only one who can walk through shadows..."<p>

Hellboy tilted his head as she seemed to have no clue what he was talking about. Holy crap! Did she have no idea what he was talking about? Geeze, if she wasn't wise to the goal of all of this, maybe she was more of a tool to her father than the BPRD even thought. But as Hellboy turned his focus from his own thoughts to the cutie's words, he start to notice something very familiar. This chick was lost in the world, had no idea where she belonged or what her purpose was. Even worse, she was confused and with no access to answers. He knew a thing or two about that, and he knew a few people who knew a thing or two about that as well.  
>HB decided to drop the whole BPRD businessEnd of the world matter. If she was going to open up to anything at all, this needed to get personal. He sarcastic and condescending expression softened into one far more gentle. "Well you're preaching to the choir Fortune. I don't know if you've noticed but... like you, there's not exactly a bunch of me's running around, or a bunch of Abes. We're all freaks, out of the ordinary, some of us having no answers to our questions, just like you." He leaned back a bit and continued. "Ya know, you might just be the only one who can walk through shadows. But have you ever though about... well, how much good you could do with that?  
>The demon smirked, giving Fortune just a bit to think of that statement, then decided to dish on the flattery. "That whole dashing through shadows and summoning foxes thing, that's pretty bad-ass. I mean, you could sneak into enemy territory, investigate hidden stuff, rescue people from burning buildings. Hell, I'd get myself into all sorts of trouble if I could do what you do!" He grinned, showing those pearly whites and said "That's kinda what the BPRD is all about. They find guys like us and teach us how to do what we do in way that might actually make the world a better place and make us feel as warm and funny inside." Hellboy then reached over to his coat and pulled out a Baby-Ruth. "You hungry?"<p>

She stared at Hellboy, a notion starting to form in her head. what he said, about helping people and being 'bad-ass', was that really true? Could she really do something more than be a thief? Hesitantly, she took the candy bar from him, the act more like a symbol of accepting his offer of a better life.  
>"Thank you" She said shyly, looking down at the Baby-Ruth. No one had ever given her anything before. Just then, Abe walked back in.<br>"Sorry, Red, but if your finished, Fortune needs her rest. She has to get processed by Manning first thing tomorrow."

Hellboy grinned in satisfaction, noting the look in her eyes, like something was going on in her head. He was going to continue speaking until Abe walked in. "Manning? Oh boy..." He looked back to Fortune and started to stand. "Manning is the ultimate evil. Destroy him at all costs." He gave a wink, signaling he was joking and swung his coat back on. "I'll catch you guys later. If you survive Manning's infinite windbaggery." HB made his leave and returned to the sanction of his vault abode. Turning the tv on to 'I Love Lucy', he cracked up to a scene of Lucy wearing a trophy on her head. "Hah! That's not a hat!" A small orange Kitten, Rigby, hopped on the cough and crawled onto Hellboy's lap. Hellboy grabbed a handful of Twizzlers from a bag on a shelf that looked like they had been sitting there for a while. Taking a bite out of six or so, he pet Rigby and said, with a mouthful of Twizzlers "That Fortune chick might not be so bad Rigby. Seems like she just has to get her act together. I guess she really didn't have any idea of what her father's doing though... she's fetching these doohickey's that supposedly could end the world but... the BPRD has no clue how she fits in to all this... I dunno.."  
>He marathoned classic television for a little while longer and decided to hit the hay. For no particular reason though, that girl remained in his mind the entire night...<p>

Abe was waiting for Fortune to come out of Manning's office. He had escorted her as soon as she woke up.  
>"Where's Hellboy?" She asked as they walked. He could feel from her that she hadn't stopped thinking about him since he left.<br>"He usually sleeps in, if he doesn't have a mission."  
>"Oh." She said, withdrawing into silence.<br>'What's a Manning?' Jason asked, trotting on all fours next to Abe. He and the little creature had a mutual understanding of Fortune's safety and it had grown into a sort of friendship.  
>'Tom Manning is our boss. Like our leader, although Hellboy would disagree.' Abe thought. Fortune snickered when she picked that up.<p>

When Fortune was finally released, she rushed out of the office like a house fire, tears streaming down her face. Manning followed, marching stiff-legged and stopping outside the doorway.  
>"And don't even think about escaping!" He yelled after her. He retreated in his office with the slam of his door. Abe stared a bit, puzzled, and then went to follow Fortune. He found her in the library, crying her eyes out.<br>"Are you all right?" He asked. She had blocked her mind and, amazingly, her feelings in her misery.  
>"He called me a freak." She choked. "He was treating me like I wasn't human. I've never been treated like that in my life. Not even by my dad. My dad at least lets me talk back, Sometimes." She suddenly turned and threw herself into Abe's arms. He held her awkwardly at first, and then patted her back a little.<br>"It's all right. He does that to all new recruits the first time." She lifted her face and stared at him.  
>"'Recruits'? As in, an agent?"<br>"Of course. You have an extraordinary amount of power that could help the Bureau immensely." She sniffed and wiped at her cheek.  
>"Are you sure? 'Cuz He seemed really mad."<br>"Manning always seems like that. Give him time. He'll be...more bearable, is the term." She let out a little choked laugh and backed away from him a little. A small golden shimmer on her cheek caught his eye. He lifted his hand. "There's something on your face. May I?" She nodded. He touched were the shimmer was and was immediately overwhelmed by ancient runes scrolling down her face. Her eyes closed reflexivly at the sudden light. After it subsided, Abe slowly brought his hand away.  
>"What was that?" She asked.<br>"I'm not sure." He touched her face again. The runes were there still, but were pulsing to the beat of her heart. They were in a row down each side of her face, invisible to the human eye. He recognized the rune for protection and safe keeping, but the others were a mystery to him.  
>"What the-!" they heard Hellboy from the door of the library.<p> 


	6. Quality Time

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and the Dark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

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><p>As his voice was heard, Hellboy was seen at the library entrance holding holding a box of donuts. The look on his face was nothing short of pissed. For whatever reason, when he saw Abe's hand on her cheek that little fuse in his brain ignited. That look was frozen on his visage, but he took a deep breath and slowly softened into a more pleasant expression. He knew Abe was up to no funny business, and yet his reaction to seeing him touch her seemed out of his control. Hellboy would try to be a good sport and not cause any trouble...try.<br>He wandered on in and said. "I stopped by Dandy's for donuts. Figured you guys might be hungry." As the demon walked over to them and set the box on the table, Agent Munn was pushing a filing cart nearby then stopped as she saw the donut box. "Hellboy! Did you break out and go to Dandy's? For the hundredth time! You are not to leave BPRD premises without permission and without an escort!" She was fuming and her glasses drooped down her nose. She huffed and scooted the frames back up to her eyes and crossed her arms, like a mom expecting her child to apologize. Hellboy merely snickered and replied. "Yeah. Sure lady." To that, Munn scoffed and started to storm off with the filing cart. They could hear the tail-end of her muttering "...like looking after a kindergartner or something!" Hellboy chuckled even more and opened the box of donuts. "Don't let her fool you. She can't get enough of me."  
>HB pulled a Boston cream out of the box and took a bite, wiping some excess cream off with his forearm. Looking to Fortune, he asked "So how'd your interrogation go? You defeat Manning like I told you to?" He didn't know of Manning bringing Fortune to tears. If he did, not-so-great things were certain to happen.<p>

At the mention of Manning, Fortune's eyes started to water.  
>"Um, i-it was ok." She tried to say carelessly, but choked on the lump in her throat. "He was a little mean, but it was ok." She lied, going over and stuffing a cherry jelly donut in her mouth whole to hide, although why she thought it would work was beyond her at the moment. The donuts were really good. "Ima...goff..urk..." She tried to say through the donut, motioning out into the hall. Grabbing another donut for later, she quickly left them.<p>

She couldn't hide it from him, Hellboy knew how Manning had virtually no social skill and often spouted things out he had no business doing. As he caught those tears welling up in her eyes, he felt his blood starting to come to a simmer. He rose a brow, not understanding a lick of what Fortune said, then watched wide eyed as she ran out of the library. "Hmmm... my keen demon senses tell me Manning is being Manning... something must be done about this..." Abe would note the look in Hellboy's eyes, the look that suggested he had a wonderfully bad idea.

A few minutes later, agents would pause in alarm as they heard shouting come out of Manning's office. "What on earth did you do? Watch yourself, you clumsy oaf! That was made of solid Mahogany! Do you know how much that's worth? And now I need to get all of that ink out of the carpet! And my paperwork is everywhere!" Hellboy marched out of the office and Manning walked out continuing to roar after him. As the agents looked inside the office, they could see Manning's desk smashed clear in half, papers strewn all over the place. Apparently Hellboy 'tripped' and 'fell' onto the desk with his right hand. In a very facetious tone, Hellboy called back "I am so very sorry Manning! How clumsy of me! I guess I should be more more careful next time." Manning stood at the door, fuming, and Hellboy walked down the hall. "Heheheheh.." Now where did that girl run off to?

Fortune was curled up in a corner in the excercise room, tearing chunks out of the donut and giving pieces to Jason and the others. She pondered about everything that was happening to her at the moment. They wanted her to stay, no doubt about that, but could she? And what about her friends, the fox-demons?  
>'What do you think I should do?' She asked Jason. 'Apparently they want me to stay here. Do you guys want to stay?'<br>'Don't know.' Jason said, shrugging his little shoulders. 'If more donuts, like stay. Like stay anywhere you are.' She smiled and pulled him into a hug.  
>'Alright. We'll stay here for a bit. At least to get more free donuts.' He yipped in excitement, as did the others. 'Ok, ok! I'll go get more!' Laughing, she got up and headed back to the library, only to run into something very solid on her way out. She looked up from her place on the floor to see Hellboy.<p>

Hellboy looked forward and down, seeing their guest sitting on the floor surrounded by foxes. In one hand he had the box of donuts and he reached his free hand forward to give her a lift up. But instead of reaching for her hand he reached behind her neck and grabbed her shirt, lifting her up and back onto her feet. Nobody ever said the demon did things traditionally. Reaching into the box and pulling out a chocolate frosted donut, he shoved into his mouth and it seemed he tried to make friendly conversation 'Forgaff mrrrph pfftt mroraowow." It took him a minute but he realized she probably didn't speak the ancient language of Mouth-Full and swallowed. "I've administered justice. Manning now has a lot more to yell about than you." He offered her a wink and grinned, but then looked down at the foxes. They seemed veeeeery intent on this donuts. Not wanting to get assaulted by the little things, he pulled one out of the box and tossed to them. Looking back to Fortune he smirked and said. "I didn't want 'em to eat me. Now come on." He walked past her and her posse and motioned her to follow. "I gotta show you the most important room in the house."

Fortune giggled at his comment, then became nervous. Where was he taking her? She followed him a little warily. She was aware that she was still wearing the clothes that she came in. The reflections of the sparkles on her tank top were extremely fascinating to her foxes and the odd wandering cat. Her silence must have disturbed HB, because he was providing a steady stream of comments as they passed the different sections of the BPRD. She was too nervous to answer him. It was like her mouth was frozen shut. Instead of talking, she stared at his stone hand. Where did he get that? Was he born with it? She had the uncontrollable urge to touch it. She reached out and brushed her fingertips around one of the swirls on the top part. She was surprised that it was warm, like concrete that had been sitting in the sun all day. She pulled back when the swirls flashed sulfur yellow. She glanced at him. He was staring at her in an amused way. She blushed and looked at her feet. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Hellboy was never one to enjoy awkward silences, so of course he filled the void with all sorts of wise cracks and witty comments, all going to waste. Seemed Fortune was a really quiet one, or a really distracted one. He wasn't aware she was so intent on his hand until he felt her fingertips glide against one of its markings. Glancing at her with a light smirk he replied "Eh no worries. It does kind of stick out of like a sore thumb." Perhaps she would eventually grow accustomed to his rather grand presence and snarkiness, but Hellboy more than understood why some people, especially girls, found him rather... intimidating.  
>They eventually came to a hallway, where a few artifacts and such were displayed. At the end was that massive safe door, which to a stranger probably looked like it housed some secret facility or ultimate weapon, but when HB opened that huge vault entrance, all that was revealed to her was his bedroom. A total bachelor pad, it housed Hellboy's bed and other furniture, various monitors and televisions, various odds and ends to keep the demon entertained, and of course, plenty of snacks. Cats and kittens of various ages and sizes also called the place home, some lounging about, others playing with each other and pet toys, or whatever of Hellboy's they thought would be entertaining.<br>"Behold master HQ! This is where all of my finest thoughts and strategies are carefully constructed!" He walked up to a mini fridge and opened it, suddenly tossing her a soda.

Fortune fumbled with the cold soda, finally getting a grip on it. When she was sure she wouldn't drop it, she walked a little further into the room. It was strange to be back here. When it was a matter of her getting her father back, it was just a room that wasn't hers. Now, it was Hellboy's room. She felt odd having permission to be in here. It felt odd to have permission to be anywhere, really. She skittered the edge of the room, glancing at the old black and white pictures of HB on the walls. One of them was when he was a gangly-looking teenager, standing next to a handsome middle-aged man dressed in a proper suit with glasses. Finally she sat down gingerly on the well-worn couch, watching HB tidying up (if you could call shoving things under his bed and in his closet 'tidying up'). As she held the perspiring can, a small white kitten scuttled over and climbed clumsily into her lap. She looked down at it, a strand of dark hair swinging tantalizingly in the kittens face. It stared at the strand, blue eyes focused, as it raised one fluffy paw and batted it. Fortune giggled and picked the kitten up to cradle it in her arms. It batted at her cheek, purring up a storm. She glanced up at the picture again.  
>"Is that your father?" She asked.<p>

Hellboy wished he had thought of cleaning up the place before inviting in there, but everyone was a little spur of the moment. Hopefully his haphazard cleaning job would be adequate. When he turned around, he saw Fortune getting acquainted with the kitten and smiled warmly. "I see ya met Rosie." As Fortune asked him about the picture, Hellboy wandered over to it and smiled bitter-sweetly. "Eyep. That's my proud papa. Trevor Broom." He turned back to face his lady friend and crossed his arms. "He was the Manning before Manning was Manning. Things were a lot better when he ran the operation. Not to say things are awful now but, eh... Manning lacks the, ummm, people skills Father had. We lost him a couple of years ago in an incident, but I like to think he was ready. Guy had a longer, fuller life than most folks dream of."  
>Hellboy took a sip of his soda and found himself caught in a bit of an awkward silence, seemed the question had dredged up thoughts he had put away for a while. Shaking it off, he smirked back to Fortune and started to stride on over to the couch. "I think he would have liked you. Maybe you would have liked him too. He had a very good way of welcoming in newbies. Very gentle, caring guy." It seemed like Hellboy was leaning in very close to Fortune at first, but then it would be realized he was simply reaching to stroke Rosie's kitty-chin.<br>HB suddenly about-faced and plopped down on the couch next to Fortune, practically launching her up in the air. "But now its time for business!" Hellboy reached over his coffee table to pull up some sort of device plugged into the television, which he turned on to a blue AV channel. "Okay. This is your first official BPRD training. A mission simulation using the most advanced of technology." He plugged a cord into the device and started to unravel it. "This is your objective. A very valuable operative is being held hostage by a mighty beast of mystical origin. It is your duty to navigate treacherous terrain, collect artifacts and treasures of value and defeat paranormal threats that would otherwise block your way." As he finished unraveling the cord, it was revealed to be a controller. He handed it to her, then pressed a button turning on the device. The television screen suddenly displayed 'Super Mario Bros.'.  
>"Begin!" Hellboy ordered like a drill instructor.<p> 


	7. The Bright Room

**'Hellboy' and all of it's affiliates belong to Mike Mignola and the Dark Horse Company. This is also co-written by TheCheetoBandito.**

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><p>She was as confused about the game as she was confused about his proximity to her face a few seconds ago. Her heart sped up at his supposed intentions, but were dashed as he handed her the game controller. The controller was a little clumsey in her hands, but after a minute, she got the hang of the buttons and joystick. After a few minutes, she was even getting good at the game, no thanks to Hellboy trying to give her tips.<p>

"Grab the coins!"

"I'm trying! There's a flying turtle in the way!"

"Jump on it's shell! You can use it as a weapon!"

"How! I don't- Ok thas how you do it... WTF? Do those mushrooms have FEET? !"

Red was having far too much fun with this. As he barked orders like a drill sergeant he was secretly grinning and laughing inside, having the time of his life.

"Of course the mushroom have feet! The mushrooms have feet, eating flowers makes you spit fireballs, you can breath under water indefinitely, this is all basic stuff Fortune!" He sounded dead serious, but those skilled in Hellboy's ways would understand his sarcasm. He watched as her mustachioed plumber got to the end of the first dungeon and triumphantly leaped over Bowser and grabbed the axe. "Waahoo!"

She was frantically working the controller, moving it in a desperate attempt to beat Bowser, Hellboy still shouting (unhelpful) advice, when Manning and a squad of agents came in.

"There she is. Take her." He said. They roughly pulled her away and dragged her out of HB's room.

As he exclaimed that was when agents lead by Manning suddenly burst in and manhandled Fortune away. "What the hell? Fortune!" Hellboy got up to pursue but the agents quickly shut it. "Sunuvabitch! What the hell do you think you're doing Manning?" He yelled, pressing a finger into the intercom. Seeing the agents weren't turning back, he fired his stone hand into the door, to no avail. This was a door made to hold Hellboy in when it needed to. The only was out was for someone to let him out.

"What the-? What are you doing!" She cried, trying to get away. They held her firmly through the halls and down an elevator until they came to a door similar to Hellboy's. They opened it and threw her in. She was blinded by the light that seemed to come from everywhere. She blinked to let her eyes adjust. She was in a plain white room, save for a metal bed in the left corner. One wall was made of a giant mirror. 'Two-way, probably' She thought. The walls seemed to be made of a reflective material, like in safety vests. on the bed was a pure white jumpsuit, folded, with a note that said to put it on. she didn't, instead sitting on the bed, trying to muffle the tears working their way down her face. There were absolutly no shadows in this too-bright room and for once, Fortune felt like she was completely alone.

Abe was walking toward the kitchen when he heard Fortune yelling.

"What the-? What re you doing!" He turned a corner to see them dragging her off to Rock-Bottom.

"What's going on?" He asked a female agent, Marsh.

"Manning wants to keep her isolated for safety reasons." She said.

"Oh, boy. Red is not going to like this." He said, hurrying to HB's room.

Abe had a bad feeling as he walked to Hellboy's room. He had an extra key in his hand "For emergencies only, Fish-stick." Manning had said when he'd given it to him. Well, this seemed like an emergency. He crept slowly down the Hall of Artifacts to Red's room. he opened the door a crack and peeked in.

"Red? I just saw Manning's boys drag Fortune away. Do you-?" Before he could finish, he was hurled away by a mass of speeding red demon. "I guess that answers that question." he said, clambering up and following his friend.

Fortune felt like she was going insane. The light was everywhere, burning her soul, shriveling her mind. Everything was flat. Even under the bed, there was no shadows. She paced the room in a desperate attempt to keep control of the panic working its way into her mind. She had put on the white jumpsuit after they turned on the air conditioner. It was made of the same itchy, reflective material. She was this close to losing her mind. Suddenly, she snapped. She ran to the mirror and started pounding on the glass.

"PLEASE!" She screamed, the glass making a hollow thump. "LET ME OUT! PLEASE! I"LL NEVER DO ANYTHING BAD AGAIN! I NEED OUT!" She continued screaming and hammering the glass until her voice gave out. "please..." she rasped, sliding down and curling up into a ball. "i need shadows..."

As soon as that door opened Hellboy started barreling down the hall, hardly even noticing Abe in his focus. Fortune wasn't some monster that needed to be locked away and Manning needed to know that. He rocketed past other agents and through whatever levels he needed to in order to get to Manning's office. As the big, red demon walked into that office with a most dire look upon his face, Manning looked up tiredly from picking his nails and asked "What do you want Red?" Seeing that Manning had a pretty new desk in front of him, Hellboy picked it up and hurled it right at Manning. The portly bald one screamed and ducked as the heavy thing shattered against the wall behind him, covering him in broken chunks of wood.

"What do think you're doing?" Manning shouted, but soon found himself hoisted by the collar and smashed against the wall.

"What do YOU think you're doing?" Hellboy bellowed back, those golden eyes burning into Manning like a fire. Sweat started to poor down his face as he tried to keep a brave impression.

"T-that girl is a thief and a menace! She's a threat and a nuisance!" Hellboy pulled him away from the wall and smashed him into it again.

"And how do you know that?" Manning panted and said.

"She..she's stealing! She goes through shadows! She...she.." Hellboy growled and interrupted with.

"Yeah? And I'm a big, red, horned demon with a fist so big your mother would feel it when I hit ya! She's just been with the wrong people Manning. She just needs the right people to put her in the right direction now." Manning quivered and replied with

"She...she is what she is Red...there's no helping her..." Hellboy dropped harshly and said.

"Huh... funny... a guy named Trevor found me a few decades ago and said just the opposite...you're a piece of shit Manning. Where is she?" Manning cowered against the wall and replied.

"I...I'm not telling you anything..."  
>Hellboy heard footsteps and saw an agent walking outside.<p>

"Hey Gustav! Where they holding Fortune?"

"Rock Bottom, HB."

"Thanks." With that Hellboy rushed out of Manning's now destroyed office. Manning sat up and caught his breath.

"Sunuvabitch..."

Abe couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was at Rock Bottom, peering into Fortune's specialized containment room. It looked as if she had fainted, but small red spots were appearing on her exposed skin. They looked suspiciously like second-degree burns.

"How long has she been in there?" He asked Agent Talbot, a fresh recruit right out of the academy.

"About two hours. she started banging on the glass a little while ago, but then she just...collapsed. I'd let her out, but I have my orders." Right as he said that, there was a smashing sound as Hellboy came barraling into her containment room.

Richard Mason stretched and cracked his knuckles. He'd been in this waititng room for who-knows-how-long. So long that they had to feed him twice. he was in the middle of yawning when he heard it. The Voice that connected him to his brothers.

'Richard, what do you think you are doing?' The Voice belonged to Marcus Avani, the head of the Order of Shadows.

'I'm waiting for them to release me, like any innocent man would do.' he said.

'We have a few problems. The vessel's life is becoming faint. We fear she may die.'

'Don't worry. I sense that the red demon is on his way to rescue her.'

'Very well. One problem solved. There is, however, the subject of her father.'

'What about him?'

'He survived our assasination attempt.' Richard's skin became cold and clammy.

'Is he aware of her existence?'

'Not yet, but we fear she may go looking for him as soon as he discovers his existence.'

'Then send someone else to kill him! He could ruin everything!'

'Which is why you are going instead. you were our most valuebal agent in the Elder Days before you retired. Now you must succeed again.'


	8. In Safe Hands

**This is a work of (fan) fiction. I own nothing.**

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><p>Glass and wire exploded from the wall as Hellboy smashed on through Fortune's chamber. Several of the other lights lost power as their connections were cut but the room still shone brightly. Squinting and raising a hand to block the incredibly bright light, Hellboy slowly made his way into the room and could make out Fortune's curled out form. Enduring the light as he used his arms to scoop her up, he squinted as much as he could while still being able to see and carried her out of there. Emerging to normal light, the demon blinked a bunch to adjust his eyes, his vision bloated with spots. Seeing those burns on poor Fortune, he frowned and said. "Hell was Manning smoking when he decided to do this...Fortune...can you here me..respond.." He patted her cheek lightly then gently lifted her eyelid to see if she was regaining consciousness at all. Fortune felt a light tapping on her cheek. She opened her eyes to a blessedly dim room with Hellboy staring down at her.<p>

"H-Helboy?" She whispered, reaching up to touch his face. She had never been so glad to see a person in her life. She sighed, loving the cool feel of shadows nearby. "I-i..." she couldn't speak anymore. The shadows were calling to her too strongly. With another relieved sigh, she sank into the nearest shadow. It was as if she disolved into a place of healing. SHe was soon surrounded by her fox demons, all chattering and trying to get closer to her. Jason appeared, barking and snarling at the others to get away.

'Fortune hurt.' He sent angrily.

'I'm fine. Please don't worry.' She said. Already, her burns were healing.

'You leave now?' He asked.

'No, I can't. I have to go back.'

'The Hellboy?" He asked, a hint of jelousy in his thoughts.

'I think he saved me.'

'No go back. You locked in bright room gain.' She drew the little fox to her and petted him.

'If I leave like this, that man will be proved right. Just make sure that they know I won't go back in that room.' He growled, but nodded his little head.

'I tell Abraham. He's good.' With a final pet, she Shadow Walked back to Hellboy. Even the lights of the hall were a little too much for her at that moment. They made her dizzy and she passed out again.

Hellboy offered a satisfied smirk once he saw the girl react.

"There ya go girl...stay with me now.." Her hand actually felt surprisingly warm. Then again she had just spent however long basked in light. "Yes?" He pondered as she tried to speak, but suddenly he felt Fortune slip from his fingers. "Fortune? Hey!" He freaked out a moment as she faded out, worrying she dissipated or something. But he did recall her abilities and began to realize a little bath in the shadows was probably exactly what she needed after being beat down by all those rays. The demon waited a moment, not sure she was going to return. Figuring he'd have agents or Manning on his ass soon enough, he tapped his foot, then decided to head back to his quarters. The moment he started moving though, Fortune appeared once again and he caught the unconscious thing before she hit the ground. "Poor girl. She's gotta be exhausted..." Scooping her up gently in his arms, he started to head upstairs to his quarters. He had to admit he was a little nervous, going right against the bosses orders and breaking probably an expensive sum in lights. He walked by a few agents, expecting to get some sort of trouble, but they all seemed to turn the other cheek. Orders were orders, but if Red was willing to go against Manning, maybe they weren't worth it. Hellboy finally got his floor and turned to enter the hall to his room. He came to a sudden halt and his eyes widened a bit. "...Manning?" There stood the boss himself, gun in hand and pointed at the demon. His expression was one of both anger and nervous, his forehead strewn with sweat and his breath heavy.

"You've gone against BPRD orders Red...you've gone against me..." Hellboy stepped forward and tried to talk some sense into him.

"Listen Manning you-"

"YOU LISTEN!" the blowhard bellowed. "I am in charge here! If I saw she goes to Rock Bottom, she goes to Rock Bottom! If I tell you to stand down, you stand down!" Hellboy didn't take that lightly and suddenly rose the Samaritan from his hip to point it on Manning.

"And if I dont?..." Manning backed off a bit, but still kept his gun aimed.

"I...I'm in charge here! If you mess with me, you mess with the United States government!" Hellboy took another step forward, putting his hand on the trigger.

"AND IF YOU MESS WITH ME...that's it Manny! There's a list of things I can do to ya...I can blow you away right now! I take whatever shots you fire and tear you down with my bare hands! I can reveal myself to the world and put a huge kink in this operation! OR I can go right to your bosses and tell them how you tortured a girl because you pretty much felt like it!" Manning was really starting to lose his composure as Hellboy stepped even closer, the barrel of that gun starting to look giant-sized. "What's it gonna be Manny-Boy? Mine's bigger..." They both faced off silently for a moment, Manning drenched in sweat and...tears perhaps? He whimpered and gasped, then put down his gun and darted past Hellboy, tripping to the floor, then flailing back up to run out of sight. Hellboy took a massive sigh, then shook his head and went to his room. Laying poor Fortune down on his bed, he turned the lights off for her and made his way to the couch. Plopping himself down and cracking open a bud, he turned on the television to Three Stooges and rested his chin against his fist.

Fortune was starting to get tired of waking up in strange places. Still, it was the most comfortable yet. The darkness felt good on Fortune's still-burned skin. She opened her eyes to find herself in a rather large bed with the covers thrown on her. It was dimly lit, the only light was the bluish glow coming from the wall of TV's on the other side of the room. A figure was sitting on the couch, watching old-style shows. Hellboy, she imagined. This was probably his bed. Jason sneezed beside her.

'He stink.' He complained.

'No, he doesn't.' She said tiredly. 'He might think you stink.' Jason huffed at that, but kept his thoughts to himself. She, also kept to herself the fact that she liked the spicy, slightly sulfurous scent of the demon's bed. Slowly, with the covers wrapped around her and a corner of them pulled over her head like a hood, she padded over to where the couch was.

"Oooooh wise guy huh?" Curly said to Moe before the bowl-cut haired brother bonked him with a wooden plank.

"Ahaha. Serves him right. Baldy." Hellboy chuckled to himself quietly, now munching on beef jerky and drinking a Vanilla Coke. He kept it quiet so that Fortune could rest. He wanted her to heal properly but was a little weary of an unwanted visit. He expected Manning to send down agents or something but so far he found himself pleasantly surprised to find no more drama. Perhaps Manning was quivering like a baby in his room. "Serves him right. Baldy." Hellboy said once more. This time more grim and not towards the television. The demon turned around to check on Fortune and his golden eyes grew wide as he jumped a bit at the appearance of a hooded figure. "GAH!"

"It's just me!" Fortune said, flipping the blanket off of her head. "I just woke up." Gingerly, she sat down next to Hellboy on the couch. "I wanted to thank you for what you did." As Fortune took a seat next to him, Hellboy looked to her with a mouthful of jerky then handed her the bag if she wanted any. He finished chewing and swallowing then said.

"Eh, was nothin'. I live for the chance to get Manning's panties in a bunch." He washed that statement down with Coke and said. "I'm just sorry he did that to ya. If father were still around that wouldn't have happened." He glanced over her pale visage and asked. "How're ya feeling?" She took a hadful of jerky gratefully. She was really hungry.

"I'm ok, now. Just some minor singing." She stared at the tv as the Stooges tried to open a beauty parlor in Mexico. "What's this?"

Hellboy glanced back at the television and said.

"This? Educational Television. Some powerful life lessons right here." The demon was glad to know that the girl was holding up okay, physically at least. He pointed to his head and then asked "How ya feelin' up here? I'd preach about how the Bureau is a good place for ya and this doesn't usually happen... but after that... I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to high tail it out of here..." He didn't overly express it but a part of him would be fully saddened to see her leave. She shook her head.

"No. If I leave, then It'll be just like they said: I'm a thief and a menace." She rested her head back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't even know where I'd go if I did leave. I don't have a lot of options." Hellboy shrugged his shoulder and said.

"I don't think you're a menace. I think you're like me and folks wanna tell you what you are and don't wanna ask you what your say on the matter is." The big red monkey then got to thinking. "I ever tell ya I'm going to destroy the world?" He asked with a straight face. She stared at him blankly.

"Destroy the world? Like, for really real, or are you just messing with me?" It didn't seem like he was joking... Hellboy snickered and slouched down a bit, crossing his arms behind his head and resting it on them. "I wish I messing with ya. Life would be so less stressful." He looked forward and said. "My real name is apparently Anung un Rama and this bad boy is the Right Hand of Doom, key to waking the Ogdru Jahad, the Seven Gods of Chaos. Sound real yet?" Fortune frowned.

"Sort of. I'd be inclined not to believe you, if it weren't for the fact that there are some factors in my life just as unbelievable." Just then, Hellboy's door opened to Agent Munn.

"Hey, you two. No necking." She said mock-sternly. Fortune leaped to her feet, blushing.

"We- I-I mean- I-I'm-... W-we wren't..." She stumbled. Munn laughed.

"I was just kidding. Come on, I made up a room for you. Can't have an underage girl hanging out in an old man's room all night. People might begin to talk. Don't worry, It's just in the library." Munn aimed the last at Hellboy for his worried look. Still blushing, Fortune followed Agent Munn to the library where she was shown a door between bookshelves. "It's not much, but it'll do for now." She said as Fortune walked in. It was pretty small, but plenty dark. Fortune liked it. One wall was half of Abe's tank, with a curtain to close it from view when she wanted to. A standard-Army bed was in one corner, a desk right next to it. "There are no windows, but I thought you might like to talk to Abe once and a while-"

"It's perfect. Thank you." She lay down on the bed, a smile on her face at the darkness surrounding her. Munn grinned and closed the door. Jason hopped on the bed along with four or five more fox demons. She sighed and fell into a deep sleep.

Fortune was roused in the early morning by Agent Munn.

"Rise and shine, Fortune. We have some shopping to do!" She trilled as she flipped on the light switch. Fortune looked at the Cheerful woman blearily.

"Wha' 'bout b'e'kfast?" She mumbled.

"The kitchen's down the hall. I've got you some jeans and t-shirts for now, just to get you out of that jumpsuit." She tossed a plastic bag of clothes on to Fortune's bed. "We'll get you some REAL clothes today, if you get up." With that, Agent Munn exited. Fortune opened the bag of clothes. T-shirts of all different colors and sizes tumbled out along with anumber of pairs of blue jeans. SHe grabbed the first pair she thought would fit her and a small black t-shirt. Once dressed, she wandered out into the halls of the B.P.R.D. After some searching, she found her way to the kitchen. It was deserted for now, a calm room full of industrial-grade cooking equipment. there was a box of Cap'n Crunch, a jug of milk and a note.

**Eat Up! -Munn**

Fortune chuckled and poured herself a bowl of creal. As Fortune got her cereal ready, she would watch an agent push a cart loaded with jugs of milk, probably a dozen boxes of Cap'N Crunch of different flavors (Hellboy liked to mix and match, cause he has such a refined palette) and a massive tin bowl to eat it all in. There were humans who were even bigger and taller than Hellboy, but none of them could match his appetite. Perhaps it was a demon thing? Maybe they have fire and brimstone churning in their guts that makes their metabolism really fast. Manning walked by with a bowl of oatmeal on a tray, seemingly on the edge. As he walked by he caught a glance of Fortune. He seemed to show a mix of alarm and awkwardness, then stumbled before continuing out of the kitchen. She watched both go by with mild fascination, then picked up her bowl and followed the cart pushing agent.

"What's that?" She asked him. The agent grinned and kept poushing.

"It's Hellboy's breakfast." He answered as they got to his room.

"Oh." She said, munching another spoonful of cereal.


End file.
